Pleasure-railway structure.



Patented-sept. 10,1912.

z SHEETS-SHEET 1.

J. A. MILLER. A PLEASURE RAILWAY. STRUCTRE. APPLIOATION. HIQBD :1017.24. 1an. 1,038,174.

J. .A. 'MILLE'.R. ,l PLEASURE RAILWAY STRUCTURE.

. APPLICATION FILED 11017.24, 1911.V V 1,038, 1 '74. w Patentednsept. 10,1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

STATES PATENT orricn.

` JOHN A. MILLER, F HOMEWOD, ILLINOIS.

PLEASUREMILWAY STRUCTURE.

Losada/i.

Specication of Letters Patent. Patnted Spt, 10, 1912 Application led November 24, 1911. Serial No. 662,196.

My invention relates to pleasure railway structure and covers improved features of construction, arrangement and operation:

Among the important objects of the 1nvention are to providel improved braking mechanism adapted to be controlledfau'to- `matically to stop the car at a desired point to be positively controlled to stop the car at other points to provide guard wheel structure positionedto cobperate 'directly with Vthe same rail structure that receives the supvporting'wheels of the cars; to provide a con- '20 struction and arrangement which will brmg the center of gravity of the carvery close to the track; to provide simplified track suplporting structure; and in general to provide improved construction and arrangement 1n pleasure railway systems.

l The various features of my invention are clearly shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevational View of a $0 car and track structure supporting the car, together with the mechanism for effecting braking of the car, Fig. 2 is a sectional view looking from plane 2 2, Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a side elevational view o the up-f per part of a track structure with parts' broken away to more` clearly illustrate the operation of the brake members supported on the track structure.

The body of the car shown comprises side beams 5 and 6 connected together by cross beams 7 and the front and end Walls 8 and 9. Engaging the tops of the side beams 5 and 6 and extending laterally therefromare the running boards 10 and 11. The body fsecurely bolted to the tics form also supports a number of seats S and analed in the lower ends of the front and rear walls of the journal framejournals a wheel 16. The journal frames are furthfr securely held in place by abutting against the projecting ends of the cross beam 7 and against blocks 17 between the projecting ends of the beams 7 and the running boards.

In the track supporting structure shown each of the bents comprises the upright side beams 18 connected together near their top by a pair of cross beams 19 securely bolted thereto. Set on edge on these cross beams and securely bolted thereto are sleepers 20, ties 21 bein suspended at intervals from the sleeper eams for supporting the rail structures R. The rail structures shown are built up of upper and lower boards 22 and 23 securely bolted to the cross beams 19 and the ties, narrower upper and lower boards 24 and 25 being secured on the board 22 adjacent the inner edge thereof. The wheels of the car engage track plates 26 secured to the top boards 22 of the rail structures, the sleepers 2O being immediately adjacent the outer edge of the` track structure. .The inner faces of the boards 22, 23, 24 and 25 of each track structure are in a common vertical plane andare faced by pipes 27 forming tracks or running surfaces for guard wheels 28. A guard wheel is provided for each vehicle wheel, and as shown, each.

guard wheel is journaled in a suitable cast- -l-ing 29 bolted to the under side of a board or plank 3() running lengthwise of the car and secured against the under faces of the cross beams 7. In prior structures special track struct-ures had to bev provided for accommodating guard wheels, but in my arrangement the same structures which serve as track for the vehicle supporting wheels serve also as track for' the guardv wheels. The various boards 22, 23, 24 and 25 being rigid abutments for the track plates 27 engaged by the guard wheels. The boards 24 and 25 on` the rail structures will oder high rail abutment for the guard wheels, .l that the vehicle can be tipped to a considerable angle before the guard wheels will move upwardly beyond the rail plates. The boards 24 and 25 also form guide ridges for preventing lateral displacement of the 'vehicle Wheels on the track, if, for example, the guard Wheels should become removed on one side. The sleepers 20 extend upwardly adjacent `the vehicle sides and will also Aprevent untrackingiof the vehicle if any of the other guard mechanisms should fa1l to work..

Coming now to the mechanism for braking and stopping the vehicle, I secure to the under side of the running boards and adjacent each guard wheel casting a: brake shoe 'structure' 3l in the form of a casting of V-shaped transverse vsectiorrwhose ends are of inverted plow shape. VFor 'frictionally receiving these brake `shoes brake vbeams 32 are each carried at the upper ends of levers 33 pivoted at intermediate points to suitable castings 3d bolted to the ties of the track 'supporting structure, the lower ends of 'the levers pivoting to an. actuating bar 35 adapted to be moved longitudinally by amain lever 36 pivoted at its lower end to said bar and pivoted at an intermediate point to the track supporting structure..

- Each brake beam has a V-shaped longitudi- Ina'l groove 37, and if the beams are of wood the sides of the groove are preferably faced with sheet metal 38. These brake beams are in position on the tiesA in the paths of the brake shoes at each side of the vehicle.

As shown, the brake beams are resting on soA the ties so as to allow free passage of the car thereover unless the b-rake beams are positively raised to carry their slots upwardly far enough to frictionally receive the brake shoes of the approaching car. Brake beams could be applied at suitable intervals on the track supporting structure to be used for stopping the car at the end of a run or to stop cars in case of emergency or accident. The brake beams at the stop- I. ping platform are preferably automatically and normally held up off the ties in position to frictionally receive the b-rake shoes of the vehicles, and the bars 35 of t-he stopping platform or home brakebeams are made of suiicient weight or purposely weighted, or otherwise controlled so that the levers 33 will be normally held in vertivcal position to hold the brake beams in braking position. The home braking beam will therefore automatically receive the brake shoes and stop the vehicles.` The brake beams at other parts of the track supporting structure are, however, normally held below the path of the` vehicle 4 brake slices, so that the cont-rolling levers 36 would have to be positively actuated to move the desired brake beams to braking position. For example, where several cars are running at intervals on the same track structure and the first car should be accidentally stopped, the attendants can throw the brake mechanisms immediately in advance of the following cars to stop these cars, thus lto prevent collision. It will be V noted that the weight of a. vehicle itself' will automatically increase the braking engagement after the brake shoes once engage to move theA brake beams longitudinally in the direction in which the vehicle is traveling, and this would result in rotation of the Y. actuating levers 33 to vertical position and upward movement of the brake beams into firm wedging and friction engagement with the brake shoes, the entire weight of the car being practically taken up by the brake beams and the actuating levers After a car4 has been skipped the attendant, by swinging the proper main lever 36, can withdraw the brake4 beams from the brake slices. The various brake beams are uctuated in much the same manner as switches are actuated in steam railway systems, the various sets of brake beam supporting lever mechanisms 33 being con nected by bars or pipes to the main levers, which levers may all be situated at the home platform or at a point :where thc operator would have the best view of the entire track. As indicated in Fig. 2, the vehicle has two longitudinal lines of brake shoes, and the track structure at various points would have two parallel brake beams, and these two brake beams could be connected with a single main actuating lever to be controlled in common. The ends of the brake beams are suitably tapered so as to readily receive the tapered ends of the brake shoes.

I thus provide very efficient brake mechanism which is particularly adaptable for use in connection with pleasure railways, although the mechanism would be equally effective in other railway Systems. rlhe pro" vision of guard roller structures on the under side of the car enables the guard wheels to us'e for trackage the same structures which form rails for the vehicle main supporting wheels, and special track abutment structures for the guard wheels are therefore en.- tirely unnecessary. Furthermore, the guard wheels placed as shown are in the best positionL to most advantageously and eiliciently prevent displacement of the vehicle on its track or derailnient thereof. For example, in going around a curve the vehicle might -r1se from the track at one side but the adjacent guard Wheels, .by abutting against the track plates 27, would prevent any lateral displacement ,of the vehicle on the track, and the guard 'wheels are thus effective through a wide range. By having the guard wheel structures and brake shoe mechanism below the floor of the car the center of gravity vof the car is brought down to a very low point, and this in itself will greatly increase the stability of the car on its track. The boards 30, together with an intermediate board 39, form the floor of the vehicle, and the passengers sit low in the car.

. ture .with

I l cross .beams 19"andt1es greatly add to the guard beams mounted on said flat track cross beams `1.91m suspending the ties 2 1 in` intermediate'points from the sleepers.' The.

- The track supporting structurelis also.exneeding simple,l and a most rigid struc-4 a` mlnimum amount of material is provided by arran "'ng the sleepers 20 on the rail structures R being securely bolted to the' rigidity of the structure. I do not of course desire to be limited to the precise construc-l tions, arrangements, and operations shown anddescri-bed, as changes and modifications are possible which would still come within the scope of my invention, and I therefore` claim the following:

1. In pleasureerailway systems,l the combination of a supporting structure, flat' beams on said supportingstructure, and a flat rail on each beam, a vehicle having su porting Wheels engaging said fiat ra' s,

beams along the inner ed e thereof, a lvertical liat rail engaging tie inner ,face of each Hat rail beam and the gua-rd beam thereon, bearing frames suspended from the Afloor of .the vehicle adjacent said vertical rails, and guard rollers journaled in` said frames for engaging said vertical rails...

2.In pleasure railway systems, the coni? of a supporting structure, parallel" flat track beams on said supporting struc' bination ture and a Hat raill on each-beam, avehi'clel having supporting wheels for engaging said ing frame, the outer sidesof the guardv beams acting asabutments to prevent laterali" displacement of the vehicle on its tracks, and the inner sides {4oof the guard beams acting as tracks for said guard Wheels.

- Inwitness whereof, I hereunto subscribe 1911. l JOI-INA. MILLER.

Witnesses:

VCHARLES J. SCHMIDT, NELLLE B. DEARBORN.

my name' this 21st dayv of November, A. D., A 

